


a summer afternoon

by diana_hawthorne (stsgirlie)



Series: Private Lives [7]
Category: Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-12 01:05:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7078153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stsgirlie/pseuds/diana_hawthorne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben Stone, the new in-house legal counsel for the Major Case Squad, is called down to One Police Plaza for an emergency advisory session, his daughter in tow.</p><p>Set in June 2005.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a summer afternoon

He walks up to the school but doesn’t need to wait long as his daughter comes running down the steps, clutching her tote bag. Her hair is still wet from her swimming lesson and she waves goodbye to her friends before stopping in front of him.

‘Hello, sweetheart,’ he says, resting his hand on her shoulder. ‘Are you ready to go?’

She nods, taking his hand, and they walk towards their apartment. ‘Daddy, can we go to Melon’s for lunch?’ Caroline asks, swinging his hand as she skips along beside him. ‘I’m _starving_.’

He smiles down at her. ‘Let’s drop off your camp things at home first and then we can go, all right?’

‘Yay!’ she exclaims delightedly, squeezing his hand.

‘How was camp today?’ he asks.

‘It was good. I won first place in our swimming race today,’ she says, glancing up at him to measure his reaction. Every time she looks at him like this, he’s reminded of something he said to Elizabeth the time he blindsided her on the stand with her rape… ‘it’s the curse of having a distrustful nature.’ His daughter inherited this trait of his, it appears. The only person she’s ever completely relaxed with is her mother.

‘Well done!’ he says, and she grins cautiously up at him. ‘I definitely think that deserves a celebratory Shirley Temple.’

She relaxes now and chatters on about her day, her playdate tomorrow afternoon, some new television show she wants to watch later. He listens to her, though he is focused on working out a defense for the latest high-profile criminal to come across his desk. He is surprisingly enjoying this position--legal advisor for the Major Case Squad. It was Jack’s suggestion, made offhandedly over drinks one night a year ago after he spent the evening complaining about his writer’s block and lack of occupation.

‘You can do something about that, you know,’ Jack said, amused. ‘It’s not like you were disbarred. Look, Deakins was telling me how much they need a legal advisor at Major Case. With the recession, everyone’s overworked and they’re falling behind on cases. Branch agrees that an in-house legal advisor will help pick up some of the slack. He asked me to talk to you about it, actually. You’d be great at it, Ben. And it would definitely give you more ideas for your books.’

He stared into his scotch for a minute before looking back at him. ‘Yes, okay. Tell Branch I’m interested.’

‘Really?’

He shrugged. ‘Why not? You’re right--I can do something about being bored, so why shouldn’t I?’

Jack raised an eyebrow and his glass of scotch in a silent salute. ‘I’ll let him know.’

‘Daddy!’ Caroline says, tugging at his hand, and he shakes his head slightly to clear it, looking down at his daughter. ‘Daddy, your phone is ringing.’

He lets go of her hand and digs his phone out of his pocket.

‘Stone,’ he says.

‘It’s Deakins,’ he says. ‘Sorry to do this on your day off, but we really need you in here. Goren and Eames are caught up in this Jonas Slaughter case and need some assistance. Can you get down here within the hour?’

He looks down at his daughter. She is waiting patiently, clutching her tote bag with both hands as she looks up at him. Caroline looks so much like his wife--she has her steady grey gaze and her auburn hair is tucked neatly behind her ears. She also has a smattering of freckles across her nose and their height--she is tall and willowy for her age. Caroline is a beautiful girl, this child his wife wanted so much. He sighs.

‘I have my daughter with me--Elizabeth is in court all day. Let me see if I can get a sitter.’ He silently curses his stubbornness in letting their nanny go. He was the one who insisted that it was an unnecessary expense now that Caroline was in school. His wife had protested, pointing out their busy careers and the fact that her parents paid for the nanny, but he stayed firm. His daughter Julie was essentially raised by a nanny, and he didn’t want to make the same errors with Caroline; he also resented accepting money from his in-laws especially as they didn’t strictly need to.

Deakins sighs. ‘I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t urgent, Ben, but it is. We can figure out someone to watch her once you get down here, but we really need you now.’

‘Yes, okay. I’ll try to figure out someone to pick her up from there. I’m on my way,’ he says, and hangs up the phone.

‘What’s wrong, Daddy?’ Caroline asks.

‘I have to go into work--it’s an emergency. We’re going to have to go to Melon’s another day, okay?’

She pouts but doesn’t protest, simply nods in acquiescence. ‘What about me?’

He tucks his phone into his pocket and hails a cab. ‘You’ll come with me and we’ll see if Miranda can come pick you up.’

She nods solemnly, taking his hand as the cab pulls up to the curb. He helps her inside, then sits down next to her.

‘One Police Plaza, please,’ he says, and then they merge into the afternoon traffic.

As his daughter stares out the window, he tries his wife first. Her phone rings straight through to voicemail and he leaves her a message, briefly detailing their predicament.

He tries Miranda next and sighs in relief when she picks up right away.

‘Hello, Ben,’ she says, surprised. He can hear the clink of ice in a glass and the murmur of voices in the background.

‘Hello, Miranda. I hate to ask you this, but I’ve been called into work and I have Caroline with me. Is there any way you could come pick her up? I’m not sure how long I’ll have to be at the precinct…’

‘I wish I could, but Peter and I are in the Hamptons right now. Have you tried calling your old nanny? Maybe she could pick up Caroline. Or have you tried Teddy? Maybe he or Chrissy are free?’

‘I’ll try them--thanks, Miranda.’

He hangs up the phone and tries Teddy, Elizabeth’s cousin. They spend a lot of time at each other’s apartments, their children are close friends, and he hopes he’ll be able to help.

‘I’m at work and Chrissy and the boys are up with my parents this week--our nanny’s on vacation, so she can’t help you either. I’m sorry, Ben--have you tried Miranda?’

‘Yes, she and Peter are in Southampton.’

‘Don’t know what to tell you, sorry, Ben. Listen, I’ve got to go--’

‘Okay--thanks,’ he says, then hangs up the phone. Who else can he call? Just as he finally makes up his mind to try their old nanny, they pull up to One Police Plaza. He pays the cabbie and ushers his daughter out of the cab. She takes his hand and he looks down at her. Her lashes are lowered and she shifts her grip on the tote bag she’s still clutching.

‘What am I going to do?’ she asks again, looking up at him.

‘I don’t know,’ he snaps, frustrated that he’s in this position. He is sixty years old and he has a five-year-old daughter… this is not how it was supposed to be. His marriage to Elizabeth was supposed to be delightful, carefree, relaxing… not filled with the stress of raising a child, especially one he didn’t want.

His daughter looks up at him, stricken, and he sighs, deliberately softening his tone. ‘We’ll see if someone can watch you until Mommy can come pick you up.’ He resents speaking like this, calling Elizabeth ‘Mommy’ when she should just be his wife. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, just her, not anyone else and not a dependent child. Of course he loves his daughter, but he can’t help resent the complications involved in child rearing.

‘When will that be?’ she asks quietly.

‘I don’t know, Caroline. We’ll figure it out.’

She nods again, her head drooping as she follows him into the precinct.

‘Thank God you’re here,’ Deakins says, approaching them as soon as they walk into the squad room. ‘We just found out that Slaughter bribed a witness who saw a woman resembling his wife leaving. Do we have enough to press charges? All we’ve got is the witness who accepted a “favor”--no cash changed hands.’

‘I’m going to get Caroline settled first and then I’ll be right with you, okay?’ He turns to his daughter, already anxious to get her settled and get on with his work. ‘Let’s get you set up in my office.’

‘I’m hungry, Daddy,’ she says plaintively. ‘Can’t we have lunch first please?’

‘Ben--’ Deakins says, then another voice interrupts.

‘Can I help?’ Mike Logan says, sidling up to them.

God, this is the last thing he needs right now. This is the only part of working at Major Case he doesn’t like, and all he can think about every time he sees him is that he used to be with Elizabeth. He especially doesn’t want to see him now, when he’s frustrated with his daughter, this situation, Deakins… ‘We’re fine, Logan, thanks,’ he says, turning away from him and kneeling next to his daughter. ‘I’m going to go out and get you a hot dog or a pretzel, okay, and then will you be all right sitting in my office for a little bit?’

‘I just finished up with a case and have a bit of free time--I can watch her, Ben, if you want.’ He leans back on his heels and looks at him, surprised. Logan seems completely genuine and he grins in that infuriating way. ‘As long as the Captain doesn’t mind, of course.’

‘That would be great, Logan, thanks,’ Deakins says, clearly relieved to have sorted this out.

He looks back to his daughter. ‘Is that all right, Caroline?’ She nods, looking at him with wide eyes so like Elizabeth’s that he feels a pang of anguish at entrusting her to him. Look what he did to her mother, after all… but this is ridiculous. Everything’s going to be fine.

Logan crouches down next to her and smiles gently, extending a hand. Caroline takes it tentatively, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze he recognizes as his own. ‘My name is Mike, Caroline,’ he says. ‘I’m a friend of your parents and I work with your dad. Do you want to hang out with me while your dad has to work? We can go out for lunch and then ice cream, if you want--if that’s okay,’ he says, looking at him quickly.

She nods, ducking her head shyly. She does this when she’s hurt, and he has hurt her feelings by snapping at her. She is very like Elizabeth, withdrawing into herself, watching the world through the walls they construct around them.

‘Great!’ Logan says, grinning with delight at Caroline. She looks up at him through her long lashes. He darts a glance at him, but Mike is focused on Caroline. Why? Is it because she looks so much like Elizabeth? Is it because he wants to be close to her again and he figures this is the way to do it? Well, he won’t figure it out today, not with Deakins waiting for him impatiently.

‘Thanks, Logan,’ he says, straightening up.

‘Can we get going now, please?’ Deakins asks impatiently, and he nods.

‘You have my cell number, right?’ he asks Logan, who nods. ‘Call me if you have any questions or need anything at all. I’ve left a message with Elizabeth--she’s in court all day--but I asked her to come here as soon as she can.’

‘Don’t worry, Ben, it’ll be fine. We’ll have a great time, right, Caroline?’

She nods and he smiles down at her. ‘Great, let’s go then. Can I carry your bag?’ She hands it to him silently, then he holds out his hand to her. ‘How do you feel about a cheeseburger, hmm?’

She smiles shyly and takes his hand. He watches as he leads her out of the squad room, turning around to wave solemnly over her shoulder, before he puts her from his mind and follows Deakins into his office.

 

When he emerges three hours later he is surprised to see Caroline perched on the edge of his desk, giggling uncontrollably. He experiences an odd deja vu--Elizabeth was sitting on the edge of his desk just like that fifteen years ago when they first met. He blinks to dispel the image and looks again. Mike is laughing with her and she looks so utterly carefree and happy that he feels oddly voyeuristic. He’s only seen his daughter like this with Elizabeth… how is she so at home with him? Perhaps it’s his ridiculous charm--he sneers inwardly as he thinks of it. He had Elizabeth wrapped around his finger, she was infatuated with him and so broken after… even a year later, when he came back from Paris, there were so many pieces to pick up. Apparently he’s now charmed their daughter the same way he charmed his wife years ago.

They look up at him with oddly guilty expressions as he approaches Logan’s desk.

‘I’m sorry that took so long, Caroline,’ he says.

‘It’s okay, Daddy. Mike and I had a great time! We got cheeseburgers and milkshakes and walked around the park!’

‘I’m glad you had a good time. Thanks, Logan,’ he says, looking at him.

He grins self-deprecatingly. ‘Any time. I thought we had fun.’

‘We did!’ Caroline insists, grinning at him.

‘Well, Caroline, it’s time to go home, okay? Let’s get your things.’

‘But Daddy, can’t I hang out with Mike more?’

He raises an eyebrow at her plea. ‘Another time, maybe. Say thank you to Mike and we’ll go.’

He watches in surprise as she flings her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek.

‘Thank you, Mike,’ she says fervently. ‘I had the best time ever.’

He smiles gently at her, resting his hand on her hair for a moment. ‘Me too, honey. It was really fun.’

‘How much was lunch?’ he asks Mike abruptly, wanting to remind him--remind him what? That Caroline is part of a life he could’ve had if he hadn’t broken Elizabeth’s heart?

He looks up at him in surprise. ‘It’s not a big deal, Ben.’

‘I insist,’ he says, and when Mike looks at him with that infuriating, amused gaze he takes forty dollars out of his wallet and lays it on the desk. ‘Thanks again, Mike.’

He makes no move to pick it up, instead resting his hand on Caroline’s shoulder. ‘I’ll see you soon, Caroline. Tell your mommy hi from me.’

‘I will,’ she promises, and hugs Mike around his middle before he takes her hand and leads her out of the squad room. Caroline continues to twist around to look back at him; he tightens his grip on her hand and drags her out of the building.

 

Caroline kneels on the seat to look out the window their cab drives uptown back to their apartment.

‘I’m sorry that took so long,’ he says after a few minutes of silence. ‘How about we go out to dinner tonight with Mommy to celebrate your swimming victory?’

‘Maybe,’ she says, still focused on the scenes passing her window. He sighs and she turns to look at him. ‘Mike told me that he used to work with you and Mommy.’

‘Yes, a long time ago,’ he says, and she sits down properly, looking at him.

‘How come I never met him before? If he’s friends with you and Mommy then why doesn’t he come to Christmas parties or for the Fourth of July?’

He sighs. If she only knew… ‘He’s a busy man. He works very hard.’

‘He’s really fun. He told me lots of stories about Mommy.’

‘Oh, really?’ he says, interest piqued. Elizabeth never talks about her life with him and he’s always been curious. ‘Like what?’

She giggles, leaning back against the door to look at him. ‘Mike told me that Mommy used to yell at him when he was being goofy at work. That sometimes they would go out for ice cream and Mommy used to steal his. Isn’t that silly?’

‘Very silly,’ he agrees.

She smiles and looks back out the window.

‘I liked him, Daddy. Will you bring me into work more?’

His heart clenches at her innocent request. ‘We’ll see. It’s not really a place for children, though, Caroline.’

She turns away from the window and looks at him, one eyebrow raised questioningly. ‘But I go to Mommy’s office all the time.’

He sighs, unwilling to get into a debate with his daughter. Luckily the cab pulls up to their apartment and Caroline forgets her statement as she climbs out of the cab and goes to give their doorman a full report of her day.

 

When they get upstairs to their apartment, Caroline goes into her room to change out of her camp things, then comes back to the living room, pulling a photo album off the shelf. She sprawls on the floor, flipping through the album, and he looks up from his notes from this afternoon’s work.

‘What are you looking at?’ he asks.

‘Photos of Mommy,’ she says. ‘I want to see if I can find any pictures of Mommy and Mike.’

‘I don’t think there are any--’ he says, though he realizes as he says it that he’s never looked through her photo albums. There may well be pictures of the two of them--and indeed there are, as Caroline crows in triumph.

‘Here’s one!’ she says, pointing. He sets aside his notes and sits down on the floor next to her, looking at the photograph. She’s beaming up at him broadly and he’s grinning down at her, arm around her waist. They’re on the beach outside Peter and Miranda’s cottage in Southampton.

Caroline turns the page and there are more photographs of the same trip--Mike with Elizabeth’s cousins playing touch football, Elizabeth standing between her parents, Miranda and Mike and Liz… and they look happy. When was this? The early 90s, certainly, when they were together. God, she looks beautiful and breathtakingly happy and undeniably sexy in her skimpy bikini, laughing brightly. He has never seen her like this… he missed out on so much joy in her life. She has never, ever been so carefree and happy with him--Logan took that away from her when he broke her heart.

They hear Elizabeth’s keys in the lock and look at each other at the same time. He quickly closes the photo album and puts it back on the shelf just as she enters the room.

‘Mommy!’ Caroline says, running towards her. Elizabeth has eyes only for their daughter, and bends down to embrace her.

‘Hi, sweetheart,’ she says, kissing her on the forehead. ‘How was your day? I’m so sorry that I couldn’t pick you up. Did you have fun at Daddy’s office?’ She looks up at smiles at him in apology at her last sentence. He can’t help but contrast her smile with the brilliant one pictured in the album.

‘It was the best!’ Caroline exclaims, and Elizabeth shifts her attention back to their daughter, smiling at her. This one is closer, but not close enough to the sheer joy of fifteen years ago. How did he never notice the difference before? ‘I won my swimming race at camp and then we went to Daddy’s office and Mike took me out to lunch and we got milkshakes to celebrate! Then we went to the park and walked around and it was really fun…’

He sees her withdraw, shuttering into herself. _This_ is the woman he married; this is the Elizabeth he’s shared a home and a bed with for eight years and until now he’s never realized how much she kept hidden from him, what he’s missed.

‘...and Mike said that you used to go out for ice cream and you used to steal his ice cream cones!’

His wife forces a smile. ‘That was a long time ago, Caroline. I’m going to take a shower and get changed, okay, and then we can all go out to dinner to celebrate your swimming victory! How does that sound?’

‘Great, Mommy,’ she says, grinning. ‘Can we go to Melon’s?’

‘You had a cheeseburger for lunch,’ he feels obligated to remind her, but Elizabeth shrugs and agrees, her eyes clouded as she thinks of something else.

‘I’ll shower quickly and then we can go,’ she says abstractedly, resting her hand on her daughter’s hair for a moment.

Caroline turns to him as soon as they hear the bedroom door close.

‘What’s wrong with Mommy?’ she asks.

‘I think she’s just tired,’ he says. He looks down at his watch--six o’clock, past time for a drink. He walks over to their liquor cabinet and pours a scotch--he needs one. ‘Why don’t you get dressed for dinner, Caroline? We’ll leave after your mother finishes showering.’

She nods and walks off to her room. As soon as the door closes behind her he takes out the photo album again, starting at the beginning. It starts off at Christmas 1991, according to the timestamp at the bottom of the pictures--pictures of her parents’ house; a series of family shots; snapshots from their annual Boxing Day party. There is one photograph in particular that draws his attention--a candid shot of her arms around his waist, chin tilted up as she looks up into his eyes. His hand is cupping her cheek and he’s looking down at her solemnly. The party is a whirl around them and they are the only people in focus. They are completely absorbed in each other during this tiny snatch of time… he didn’t think that Logan would ever feel like this about a woman, but he was so clearly in love with her, even if it is only for the length of a snapshot.

He has never seen photographs of them before. He didn’t know they were together in 1991… she was his therapist, he knew, until that summer… Were they together when she was treating him? He doesn’t want to know. Maybe this is why he never really saw them together except for that brief moment after her trial. She is discreet, was especially so with Mike. Even now he’s not sure that all their colleagues know she is married to him.

He closes the album again and puts it away as he hears the shower turn off. He’ll look at it tomorrow morning when Caroline is at camp and she is at work.

‘Are you ready to go?’ Elizabeth asks, leaning against the doorway as she puts in her earrings.

‘Yes,’ he replies, standing up to meet her. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ she asks breezily. ‘I’ll get Caroline and then we can go.’

‘Elizabeth--’

She smiles at him and turns away, walking down the hallway to their daughter’s door. He listens as she knocks and enters, and a few minutes later they come out, Caroline happy and excited, Elizabeth still quiet.

‘Let’s go,’ he says.

Caroline takes her mother’s hand as he leads the way out of the apartment. As they wait for the elevator, Elizabeth bends down and kisses the top of her head.

‘I’m so proud of you, darling girl,’ she says. ‘And I can’t wait for you to show off your skills this weekend at Grandmother and Grandfather’s! Maybe you and your cousins can have a race.’

‘Me too,’ she beams, squeezing her hand. The elevator comes and they step inside.

 

Elizabeth is withdrawn throughout dinner, barely listening when Caroline talks to her. She stares abstractedly out the window, sipping her gin & tonic. He places his hand on her back and she looks over at him. For a moment it’s as though she doesn’t see him, then she gives a little shake of her head and blinks, forcing a smile. He lifts his hand and rests it on her shoulder, caressing her skin lightly.

‘Are you tired?’ he asks, and she nods.

‘It was a long day in court,’ she says, looking away from him. ‘I’m ready for the weekend.’

‘When are we driving up to Connecticut?’ Caroline asks eagerly.

For the first time all evening Elizabeth looks relaxed and happy. ‘I thought that I’d pick you up from camp on Friday and we could leave straight from there.’

‘I’m working on Friday,’ he says, surprised she forgot.

‘But Daddy, if we drive up after camp I can go sailing on Friday!’

 _If they drive up after camp, then I can have the afternoon and evening to myself_ , he thinks, and looks at Caroline and smiles.

‘I can take the train up after work,’ he offers, and Elizabeth takes his hand, squeezing it.

‘Yay!’ Caroline exclaims. ‘I can’t wait.’

‘Then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll pick Daddy up from the train station and he’ll be there when you wake up on Saturday morning and we can all have Nina’s pancakes together.’

‘That sounds perfect,’ he says, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘It will be a great weekend.’

‘Yes,’ Caroline agrees. ‘Now, can I have dessert?’

Elizabeth laughs. ‘Just this once.’

 

After dinner they walk home slowly, Caroline dozing in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder. He’s too old for this, he thinks, especially now that his wife is silent again.

As they wait at the corner for the light to change they come upon Mike. Elizabeth doesn’t see him at first; she is occupied in her daughter, as always, stroking back her hair. His arms tighten involuntarily around Caroline, who wakes and begins to protest. His wife looks up at him and then follows his gaze, stiffening immediately at the sight of him.

‘Caroline left her tote bag,’ Mike says, and at the sound of her name, their daughter turns and begins to squirm with joy.

‘Mike!’ she says, and he grins at her, some of the tension leaving his body.

‘Hey, honey. You left your bag at the precinct and I thought you might need it.’

Caroline continues to wiggle in his arms and, unwilling to deal with her in this overexcited state, he sets her down. She immediately rushes towards Mike, hugging his waist, and when she lets go of him he kneels down next to her.

‘Mike, we went to Melon’s for dinner and I had a Shirley Temple and ice cream as a treat because I won my swimming race!’

‘You’re a very lucky girl--milkshakes at lunch and ice cream at dinner!’ he says, laughing.

‘Thanks for bringing the tote bag by, that was very kind,’ he says, wanting to be cold but unable to summon it up. It was very kind of him to do so, even if he clearly had an ulterior motive.

‘Mike, will you come up and see my room?’ Caroline asks, tugging at his hand.

‘I don’t know, honey--’

‘Yes, why don’t you come up for a drink?’ he suggests, feeling obligated to repay his kindness somehow, however reluctantly. ‘It’s the least we can do.’

He watches as Mike and his wife exchange a glance, and Mike nods and says, ‘yeah, thanks, that would be great.’

‘Yay!’ Caroline cries, and Mike laughs at her.

‘It’s still time for bed when you get home,’ Elizabeth says, speaking for the first time.

‘But _Mommy_ \--’

‘Sweetheart, you’ve spent practically the whole day together. You can show Mike your room and then it’s time for bed. You have camp in the morning.’

Caroline spins on her heel to turn and face Mike, who grins and says, ‘Your mother’s a smart lady.’ His daughter returns his grin reluctantly, wrapping her arms around his neck again. ‘Ready to go?’

He darts a quick glance at his wife--she is completely absorbed in watching Mike and Caroline, her face impassive.

‘Let’s go,’ he says, resting his hand on his wife’s back. Mike lifts Caroline easily and she squeals in delight. He takes his wife’s hand and they cross the street and enter their building, her gaze still fixed on him.

‘Mr. Logan!’ Tony, their doorman, says in delight. They shake hands. ‘Haven’t seen you in ages--how you doing?’

‘I’m doin’ well, Tony, how about you?’ Mike asks in response.

‘No complaints here.’

‘We ran into Mike and I’m going to show him my room!’ Caroline says in delight, and he cringes inwardly.

‘Well, that sounds great. Have a good night, now.’

‘You too,’ Elizabeth says with a brief smile.

They step into the elevator, Elizabeth clearly wanting to go to their daughter, barely restraining herself from reaching out to take her into her arms.

‘Time for a bath, my love, and then you can show Mike your room,’ his wife says, releasing his hand to search her purse for her keys.

He doesn’t want Elizabeth to be alone with Mike, but he also doesn’t want to spend any more time with him, so he picks the lesser of two evils.

‘I’ll take her,’ he says as the elevator doors open and Elizabeth unlocks the door to their apartment. Mike sets Caroline down amidst her protests and he leads her down the hall as Elizabeth brings Mike into the living room.

He sits on the sheepskin rug in front of the bath as, for once, his daughter bathes quickly. Normally she wants to spend hours in the tub, pretending to swim, but today she is too infatuated with her new acquaintance to want to do anything else but spend time with him. Tonight she doesn’t protest and changes into her pyjamas without a murmur, running back into the living room as soon as she yanks on her nightdress.

Elizabeth and Mike are sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, Caroline between them, when he joins them. Elizabeth has a half-empty martini glass next to her and Mike is holding a scotch as Caroline jumps up and down.

‘Settle down, darling, please,’ Elizabeth says, rubbing her back gently. ‘Why don’t you go show Mike your room now?’

‘Okay!’ she agrees, bouncing off the sofa. She takes Mike’s hand and pulls him behind her down the corridor to her room. When they leave, his wife avoids his gaze. He busies himself and pours a scotch, then sits down next to her on the sofa.

‘This isn’t quite the evening I’d thought we’d have,’ he says.

She tucks her feet up beneath her and leans against him, closing her eyes.

‘Caroline pulled out one of your photo album this afternoon.’

He feels her tense, though she keeps her eyes closed.

‘She wanted to find pictures of you and Logan. Do you know, I’d never seen pictures of you together?’

‘No. I don’t suppose you would have.’

He wraps his arm around her and she opens her eyes, looking up at him.

‘He was a big part of your life, wasn’t he? We saw pictures at Miranda and Peter’s, at your parents’ for Boxing Day… I didn’t realize. I thought… I didn’t think it was like that.’

‘Yes,’ she admits reluctantly. ‘We were together for three years, Ben. He came home with me for holidays, knew my family…’

‘I suppose I didn’t realize how long you were together, how deep it went. We’ve never really talked about it--’

She straightens up as Mike comes back into the room, grinning sheepishly.

‘Sorry for getting her all riled up. She’s in bed now, though, ready to be tucked in.’

‘I’ll do it,’ Elizabeth says with alacrity, standing up and walking down the hallway before he can protest. Mike picks up his abandoned scotch and takes a seat in one of the slipper chairs flanking the fireplace.

‘She’s a great kid,’ he says easily, leaning back in the chair as though he’s at home. Well, he was with Elizabeth for three years--surely they spent time here.

‘Yes, she is. She takes after her mother,’ he replies, taking another sip of scotch.

‘Liz is a wonderful mother. I always knew she would be.’

He doesn’t respond and they stare at each other for a minute before looking back down at their glasses. When Elizabeth re-enters the room Logan stands up in relief.

‘Thanks for the drink--I should get going.’

‘Thank you for bringing Caroline’s bag,’ Elizabeth says, a small, tentative smile on her face. ‘It was good to see you, Mike.’

‘You too. See you tomorrow, Ben.’

He nods and they watch together as Logan leaves their apartment.

He stands up and locks the door behind him, then turns back to his wife. She is curled up on the sofa, hugging her knees to her chest. She meets his gaze reluctantly.

He doesn’t know what to say. This day seems like it’s lasted years, and all he wants to do is take her to bed and make her forget all about Mike. She was in love with him… he didn’t quite realize that before.

‘Can we go to bed, please?’ he asks her, and she looks up at him with something approaching relief. She nods and stands up to meet him, taking his hand and leading him to their bedroom.


End file.
